Injector filling apparatus

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for filling at least the needles of injector devices or syringes by pressure. A vial having a fluid sample therein has means for putting the sample under substantial pressure for forcing same into an injection device.

United States Patent Tom H. Vannus Pomona, Calif. 816,352

Apr. 15, 1969 July 6, 1971 Hamilton Company Whittier, Calif.

Inventor Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee INJECTOR FILLING APPARATUS 5Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

us. 01 141/18, 23/259, 73/422 00,13/4254 P, 141/329, 141/357 1111. c1.1101: 3/00 Field 01 Search 23/253,

259, 292; 73/422 GC, 425, 425.2, 425.4, 425.4 P; 141/18, 21, 25-27, 114,329, 330, 357; 222/82, 326, 386

Primary Examiner-Laveme D. Geiger Assistant Examiner-Edward J. EarlsAttomey-J. Carroll Baisch ABSTRACT: Apparatus for filling at least theneedles of injector devices or syringes by pressure. A vial having afluidsample therein has means for putting the sample under substantialpressure for forcing same into an injection device.

PAIENTED JUL 6l97| TOM H. VANNUS,

INVENTOR.

INJECTOR FILLING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of theInvention This invention relates generally to the art of chromatog'raphy and relates more particularly to apparatus or means for fillinginjectors or syringes used for injecting samples in chromatographs andthe like.

2. Description of the Prior Art Heretofore syringes used inchromatography and the like have been filled by vacuum created byretracting the plungers of such syringes.

When filling a syringe by retracting the plunger to create a vacuum,only the pressure difference between atmospheric pressure and the lowerpressure within the syringe created by retracting the plunger isavailable to force such fluid into the syringe. Such differential ofpressure is not always sufficient to charge the syringe. For example,should it be desired to charge a syringe with a viscous sample it ispractically impossible to draw such viscous sample into the syringe bythe vacuum method. However, by applying large pressures to the liquidrelative to the syringe space, viscous samples may be forced readilyinto the syringe.

Another problem often occurs when samples are run and there is notenough time to collect and run them all in one day. With the presentinvention when samples cannot be run one day, they may be kept underseal without evaporation and run at a later timev BRIEF SUMMARY OF THEINVENTION The present invention comprises a vial for a fluid sample tobe tested. The upper end of the vial is closed by a septum, diaphragm orsea] which when a needle is pushed through it will seal itself when theneedle is withdrawn.

When an injection device or syringe is to be charged, the needle thereofis inserted into the vial, through the septum, into the fluid sample,and pressure applied to the sample for forced charging of the injectoror syringe with the sample.

OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of theinvention to provide means or apparatus for charging by relativelyhigh-pressure injectors or syringes with fluid samples to be tested.

It is another object of the invention to provide apparatus of thischaracter having containers, such as vials, for the samples to be testedwherein such samples may be kept without impairment or evaporation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide means which willprevent fractionation of samples during storage where such samples haveparts or elements of different volatility.

A further object of the invention is to provide apparatus of thischaracter wherein the exterior surface of the needle is wiped off whenthe syringe has been charged and the needle is withdrawn from the vialor container.

A still further object of the invention is to provide apparatus of thischaracter wherein the vial is provided with a plunger for providing thefilling pressure and with certain types of needles said needles areflushed, the flushing fluid being isolated above the plunger.

The characteristics and advantages of the invention are furthersufficiently referred to in connection with the following detaileddescription of the accompanying drawings which represent certainembodiments. After considering these examples, skilled persons willunderstand that many variations may be made without departing from theprinciples disclosed and l contemplate the employment of any structures,arrangements or modes of operation that are properly within the scope ofthe appended claims.

Referring to the drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of apparatus embodying thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a reduced longitudinal sectional view of the same, showing asyringe needle, partly in section, inserted into the plunger of theapparatus and before pressure is applied to the plunger by means of theneedle;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the plunger after it hasbeen forced downwardly in the vial, flushing fluid being isolated abovethe plunger; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal section of the injector or injectiondevice shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a housing,indicated generally at 10, having a recess therein, comprising a bore I2with an enlarged tapped, upper end portion 14. A sample container whichis termed herein a vial is indicated at 16 and is of any suitablematerial, such as glass for example. The vial is cylindrical and isremovably disposed in the bore 12, the lower end of the vial is closedby a bottom wall 18, the upper end of said vial being open. While onlyone vial is shown herein it is to be understood that the housing mayhave provision for a plurality of vials or separate housings may be usedfor the vials.

Within the vial is a cylindrical plunger or piston, indicated generallyat 20, of any suitable material, such as stainless steel for example,that is unaffected by the sample. The plunger is of somewhat smalleroutside diameter than the inside diameter of the vial and said plungerhas an external annular groove 22 therein for reception of an O-ring 24of suitable material such as neoprene or Teflon for example, the O-ringproviding a sliding seal between the plunger and the cylindrical wall ofthe vial. i

There is a longitudinally extending axial bore 26 through the plunger 20which includes a flaring upper end portion 28. Otherwise stated, theupper end portion 28 tapers downwardly and inwardly from the upper endof the plunger.

The bottom 18 of the vial l6 rests on the bottom 30 of the bore 12 andthe upper end of said vial is closed by a septum, indicated generally at32 which is disposed in the upper end of a bore 34 of a cap, indicatedgenerally at 36. Cap 36 has an externally threaded body 38 screwed intothe threaded portion 14 of the recess in the housing 10. At the upperend of the body 38 of the cap 36 there is an enlarged head 40 having anouter end wall 42 with an axial opening 44 therethrough which tapersinwardly and downwardly from the top surface of said outer end wall 32.

Septum 32 may be of any suitable character and material. As shown, saidseptum has three layers 32a, 32b and 320 of rubber and a layer 33 ofTeflon, the latter being at the bottom and exposed to the interior ofthe vial. An example of this septum is the septum disclosed in theMcGuckin application for a SEALING ELEMENT, filed Apr. 25, 1966, Ser.No. 544,950, now US. Pat. No. 3,463,339 issued Aug. 26, 1969. Teflon isthe trademark of the Du Pont Company for their fluorocarbon resins. Theadvantage of having the Teflon facing the contents of the vial is thatthe Teflon" is chemically inert and thus the septum presents achemically inert surface to the contents of the vial and thereby keepssaid contents free from contamination.

The above described arrangement, shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, is used tocharge an injector or injection device, indicated generally at $8.

The injector 48 is shown enlarged in FIG. 4, and comprises a tubularbarrel 50 that is cylindrical and is of suitable material such asstainless steel for example. A tip, indicated generally at 52, isattached to the forward end of the barrel, said tip having a forward endportion 54 which tapers toward the front end and a rear end portion 56that is cylindrical and is disposed in a forward end portion of thebarrel and is secured therein by a suitable well-known adhesive such as,for example, an epoxy cement. The portion 56 is of reduced diameterrelative to the rear end of the tapered portion 54 thereby providing ashoulder 58 against which the forward end of the barrel abuts. A passage60 extends longitudinally throughout the length of the tip.

Slidable within the barrel is a plunger head 62 carried at the forwardend of a plunger rod 64 which is longitudinally slidable within thebarrel. The plunger head 62 may be of any suitable material such asneoprene, Tcflon" or other plastic. The plunger rod is of stainlesssteel or other suitable material and is rovided with a suitable head,not shown, to facilitate actuation thereof.

Adjacent the inner end of the rear part 56 of the tip the barrel has aside opening or port 66 that is adapted to be closed by the plunger head62 when at its forward limit of movement whereat it is in abutment withthe rear end 68 of said rear part 56. When the plunger head 62 isretracted the port 66 is open.

When it is desired to charge the injector 48 with a fluid sample 63which is disposed in the vial below the plunger the tip 52 of theinjector is forced through the septum 32, it being understood that theinjector plunger 62 is in a retracted position so that the side port 66is uncovered and open. The tip is inserted further through the septumand into the flared portion 28 of the bore 26 in the vial plunger orpiston 20, the tip entering into said bore 26 a sufficient distance tosealingly engage the bore, as for example at the junction of the lowerportion of said bore 26 and the flared portion 28 thereof. The parts ofthe apparatus are then positioned as shown in FIG. 2.

Further forcing the injector downwardly moves the vial plunger 20downwardly. The sample below the vial plunger 20 is thereby forcedupwardly into the passage 60 of the injector tip 52, into the barrel andout through the port 66 into the space in the vial above the vialplunger 20.

Thus the injector is flushed to remove therefrom any sample fluid thatmay have been retained in the injector from a previous sample. In thisway the needle becomes essentially free from former samples andcross-contamination of different samples is eliminated.

When the injector has been flushed and filled with only the fresh sampleto be tested the injector plunger 62 is moved into engagement with theinner end 68 of the tip portion 56 thereby closing the port 66. Theneedle or tip 52 is then removed from the vial and as it is removed,sample fluid that may be present on the exterior thereof is wipedtherefrom by the septum.

It is to be understood that a septum may be used that does not have theTeflon layer 32d but when some chemicals are to be tested and placed ina vial it is necessary to use a septum with such a layer or a comparablelayer.

Should it be desired to keep samples for a period of time, say overnightor the like, the septum prevents the sample or the more volatilefractions thereof from evaporating I claim:

1. injector filling apparatus comprising:

A. a nondeformable container for a fluid sample, said container beingclosed at one end and open at the other end;

B. a self-sealing septum positioned for sealing the open end of thecontainer and adaptable to have injector needle means insertabletherethrough;

C. and piston means in said container having a bore therethroughadaptable to receive the injector needle means therein and wherebydownward movement thereof places a fluid sample in the container underhydraulic pressure and charges the injector needle means with at least aportion of the sample.

2. injector filling apparatus, comprising:

A. a container for a fluid sample, said container being closed at oneend and open at the other;

B. pierceable seal covering the open end of the container;

C. pressurizing means for putting a fluid sample in the con tainer underpressure for charging an injector with at least a portion of the sample,said pressurizing means comprising a container plunger having a boreextending longitudinally therethrough;

D. a cap for retaining the seal sealingly on the open end of thecontainer, said cap having an outer end wall with an axial boretherethrough flaring upwardly, the bore through the container plungerbeing axially arranged so that the bore in the cap is in axial alignmentwith the bore in said container lunger. 3. The invention efined by claim2, including a housing having a recess therein for reception of thecontainer, said recess being open at one end, said recess having atapped portion at the open end, said cap having an externally threadedbody threadably disposed in said tapped portion of the recess, therebeing an enlarged head at the outer end of said body.

4. Injector filling apparatus comprising:

A. an injector needle means;

B. a cylindrical container for a fluid sample, said container beingclosed at one end and open at the other end;

C. a pierceable seal for covering the open end of the container;

D. pressurizing means for putting a fluid sample in the container underpressure for charging said injector needle means with at least a portionof the sample, said pressurizing means comprising a cylindricalcontainer plunger operably movable longitudinally in said container,said plunger having a bore extending longitudinally therethrough forreception of a filling end of the injector needle means insertablethrough the seal and received into the bore through the plunger andengageable with a part of said container plunger whereby said plungermay be moved longitudinally toward the closed end of said container tocreate injector filling pressure on sample fluid in the container belowthe plunger.

5. Injector filling apparatus comprising:

A. a cylindrical container for a fluid sample, said container beingclosed at one end and open at the other end;

B. a pierceable seal for covering the open end of the container;

C. a container plunger positioned within said container for putting afluid sample in the container under pressure for charging an injectorwith at least a portion of the sample, said plunger having an axial borewith its upper end flaring inwardly to receive the injector therein,said plunger further having an external annular groove therein;

D. a housing having a recess therein for the container, said recesshaving an open end with an enlarged tapped portion at said open end;

E. a cap having an externally threaded body threadedly received in saidtapped portion of the housing recess, said body having a bore extendingfrom the inner end, the seal for the open end of the container beingdisposed in the bore in said body, and an enlarged head at the outer endof said body, said head having an outer end wall with an outwardlyflaring opening therethrough aligned with the axial bore through thecontainer plunger.

1. Injector filling apparatus comprising: A. a nondeformable containerfor a fluid sample, said container being closed at one end and open atthe other end; B. a self-sealing septum positioned for sealing the openend of the container and adaptable to have injector needle meansinsertable therethrough; C. and piston means in said container having abore therethrough adaptable to receive the injector needle means thereinand whereby downward movement thereof places a fluid sample in thecontainer under hydraulic pressure and charges the injector needle meanswith at least a portion of the sample.
 2. Injector filling apparatus,comprising: A. a container for a fluid sample, said container beingclosed at one end and open at the other; B. pierceable seal covering theopen end of the container; C. pressurizing means for putting a fluidsample in the container under pressure for charging an injector with atleast a portion of the sample, said pressurizing means comprising acontainer plunger having a bore extending longitudinally therethrough;D. a cap for retaining the seal sealingly on the open end of thecontainer, said cap having an outer end wall with an axial boretherethrough flaring upwardly, the bore through the container plungerbeing axially arranged so that the bore in the cap is in axial alignmentwith the bore in said container plunger.
 3. The invention defined byclaim 2, including a housing having a recess therein for reception ofthe container, said recess being open at one end, said recess having atapped portion at the open end, said cap having an externally threadedbody threadably disposed in said tapped portion of the recess, therebeing an enlarged head at the outer end of said body.
 4. Injectorfilling apparatus comprising: A. an injector needle means; B. acylindrical container for a fluid sample, said container being closed atone end and open at the other end; C. a pierceable seal for covering theopen end of the container; D. pressurizing means for putting a fluidsample in the container under pressure for charging said injector needlemeans with at least a portion of the sample, said pressurizing meanscomprising a cylindrical container plunger operably movablelongitudinally in said container, said plunger having a bore extendinglongitudinally therethrough for reception of a filling end of theinjector needle means insertable through the seal and received into thebore through the plunger and engageable with a part of said containerplunger whereby said plunger may be moved longitudinally toward theclosed end of said container to create injector filling pressure onsample fluid in the container below the plunger.
 5. Injector fillingapparatus comprising: A. a cylindrical container for a fluid sample,said container being closed at one end and open at the other end; B. apierceable seal for covering the open end of the container; C. acontainer plunger positioned within said container for putting a fluidsample in the container under pressure for charging an injector with atleast a portion of the sample, said plunger having an axial bore withits upper end flaring inwardly to receive the injector therein, saidplunger further having an external annular groove therein; D. a housinghaving a recess therein for the container, said recess having an openend with an enlarged tapped portion at said open end; E. a cap having anexternally threaded body threadedly received in said tapped portion ofthe housing recess, said body having a bore extending from the innerend, the seal for the open end of the container being disposed in thebore in said body, and an enlarged head at the outer end of said body,said head having an outer end wall with an outwardly flaring openingtherethrough aligned with the axial bore through the container plunger.